Driving and Alzheimer's from Comfort Keepers Senior Care in Troy, MO

Many believe it is safe to allow someone with early Alzheimer's to continue driving. Unfortunately this isn't always the case. Alzheimer's is a very unpredictable disease and even though your elderly loved one may seem capable of driving to the corner grocery, there is no way of knowing when that may not be the case. According to a study published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, of 207 drivers with Alzheimer's who went missing while driving, 32 died and 35 were found injured. Please read the two following articles for more information.

Early Alzheimer's can erode driving skills

Driving With Early Alzheimer's May Be Ill-Advised

Driving and Alzheimer's from Comfort Keepers Senior Care in Troy, MO

Many people with early Alzheimer's continue to drive figuring that they will give it up when things get worse before "something happens". Unfortunately there is not really any way to tell when this "something" is going to happen. Getting confused and lost or in an accident can happen even in the early stages. Please read the following article for more information.

Driving With Early Alzheimer's May Be Ill-Advised

When is it Time to Give Up the Keys? from Comfort Keepers Senior Care in Troy , MO

A couple years ago I had surgery and was unable to drive for almost 6 weeks. Although my adult daughter took me everywhere I needed to go, I hated the idea that I had to wait for her if I wanted to go anywhere. I really hated the loss of freedom I experienced and it made me more aware of how many of my clients felt. But there often comes a time when we need to talk to our elderly loved ones about giving up the keys. How do we know it's time and how do we approach this conversation? This story from Good Morning America may help you have that conversation.

Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: Aiding Elderly Drivers

Driving and Dementia can be a Deadly Mix from Comfort Keepers Elder Care in Troy, MO

We had a client several years ago that had caused an accident and then just drove away. He had Alzheimer's and didn't seem to think that he had done anything wrong. He claimed that the other car had left so he left too. The other car hadn't left, it had simply pulled off the road. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and his driver's license was revoked.

He probably shouldn't have been driving in the first place but no one in his family had thought to take away his keys. Accidents aren't the only danger of allowing someone with dementia to continue driving. They also run the risk of becoming lost and disoriented. Unfortunately, some dementia patients who become lost aren't found until it is too late.

The following article gives some good tips on how to take away the keys:

Taking away keys tough for Alzheimer's caretakers

Denial can be Deadly for Aging Seniors by Comfort Keepers in Troy, MO

Many times we would like to turn a blind eye to the fact that our parents are aging. We want things to be how they always were. But things change and our parents age. As they age they may become more incapable of caring for themselves or doing the things they have always done. Not recognizing that our elderly parents need more assistance could lead to accidents, falls or even fatalities.

Please take a minute to read the following article:

Denial can be deadly with aging parents

If your parents need more help than you can provide in St Louis, St Charles or Lincoln Counties in Missouri, please give us a call.

314-288-0054

Checklist for Elderly Drivers Brought to You by Comfort Keepers Elderly Care in Troy, MO

My father is having trouble seeing at night, this isn't an unusual condition for man in his late seventies and he deals with it simply by planning any trips he has to take during the day.

I went home for a visit a couple years ago and we spent a week down at the Jersey shore. It was a great visit but one day we ended up staying out later than we planned, it was going to be dark before we got back to our cottage. My father asbsolutely refused to allow me or my step-mom to drive. Although we argued, and he was quite aware that he has the problem, we lost and he drove back. It was a rather harrowing trip with me riding shot gun and telling him where he had to turn. We ended up missing several turns and driving around in a big circle to get to where we were going.

It causes me to wonder though, if we had that much trouble trying to get him to turn over the keys for one trip, what is it going to be like if he ever has to give up driving altogether?
I found this checklist for elderly drivers and hope it can guide me (and you) when the time comes to make that decision.

When to Put the Brakes On Elderly Drivers